People Sharing Jesus

For the first time in a long time, Shannon and I worshipped together at First Baptist Church in Bangs, Texas this past Sunday.  This is the church where we worshipped in high school.  This is the church to which both my parents and Shannon’s parents belong.  This is where we were married in June of 1972.  Most of my trips back to FBC Bangs have been times when I have been a guest evangelist.  They have graciously allowed me to be their evangelist five times over the years since 1974.  On other occasions I have spoken at special events in the church and in the community.  As time goes on there are more and more people there who have never met us.  My father, who passed away in 1998, was loved and respected there and many of his younger friends walked up to me to share memories of blessings of days gone by.  He served the Lord by service as a deacon, frequently as chairman.  He also served as treasurer for nearly twenty years.  As a businessman, he was known for his generosity and counsel to the community. Owning a service station in a small town in those days was almost like having a ministry all your own.  People came by for encouragement, help, and advice constantly.  There is something sacred about learning of how God uses our lives to touch others.  It has to be God because none of us are good enough or gifted enough to make such a difference.  Shannon’s father is also greatly respected because of the many hours he has freely given to work on the buildings there.  He is an avid student of Scripture and a man of prayer.  One of the leaders told me that he had saved the church over one hundred thousand dollars through his efforts.  My mom has been very involved in ministry there.  She has chaired committees, taught classes, and ministered to countless needs.  Shannon’s mom has taught bible study at one time and is well known in the community.   The church is unusually strong for a small town.  There is a large youth group, a strong choir, and a good children’s ministry.  A deacon who was once the band director in Bangs brought the message.  I was in stage band in high school and greatly loved this particular director.  It was wonderful to hear him teach and bear witness.

Late that afternoon after visiting with our families, we went out to the 160 acre ranch that our family owns there.  Our two oldest grandsons were with us and marvelled at the size of the place and the cattle that were grazing there.  At present we lease the land, but someday I may put some livestock on it.  In my youth, I fed and tended cattle, built fences, and walked pastures on this ranch and one other that was sold years ago.  We sometimes forget that where we have come from and what we have experienced helps us better understand who we are.  We also can help others understand us by sharing from our hearts.  I hope by reading this you have a little better grasp of this West Texas preacher who is doing mission work in the Austin area.

                         Dan Wooldridge

Christmas Cards are a way of telling others that their lives have made a difference in our lives.  For some the cards are little more than a lovely card with a signature.  Others produce Christmas letters which are filled with news about the family who has chosen to reach out a touch others in their circle of significance.  A few contain small gifts and involve the simple sacrifices that express that the recipient has added value to the life of the sender.  Christmas cards can be a source of blessing and cheer, but allow me to suggest something better.

Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”  Most of us hear these words from John’s gospel and visualize martyrdom.  I actually have come to see something different.  Life is measured in time.  In fact the word “lifetime” illustrates my point.  To lay down your life, you need to give away some of your time.  Set aside your agenda to give time to the needs of others.  A good way to illustrate this is our American obsession with giving our children Christmas presents.  When I think back to all the gifts that mom and dad gave me as a boy, none compares with the all night campout and fishing trip with my father, or the trip to Six Flags with both parents.  The great memories are not the pretty things I pulled out of packages, but the walks in the pastures and down the streets of my hometown with the two people who raised me.  In short, it was the time they gave me that mattered most, and still does.  Somehow I believe that a Christmas visit, however brief, is worth a thousand Christmas Cards.  A few kind and loving words shared personally can warm the soul through the coldest winter.

Excuse me.  I have some “Christmas Cards” to deliver.

Dan Wooldridge

When I was a child, I remember being amazed that Israel seemed to forget over and over how much God had done for them.  The stories in the Bible of the deliverance from Egypt and giving them a promised land were inevitably followed by a period of forgetting and foolishness.

Now it is not Israel but America that looks foolish.  It is now indisputable that there is a concerted effort underway to push our Christian heritage aside.  Any and every religion is promoted and protected while Jews and Christians are admonished to stand aside.  Are we insane?  Please do not think that I favor suppressing the beliefs of those with whom I disagree.  I believe that Christianity will prevail in the free and open discussion of faith.  What I favor is freedom of speech.  Several years ago I was asked to pray at a football game.  I was told just moments before I prayed that I should not pray in the name of Jesus.  I replied that they should get another person to pray.  They blinked, and I prayed in the name of Jesus.  Afterward I asked a Muslim friend if he was offended by my prayer.  His response was that I would lack integrity if I did not pray according to my convictions and that he would always respect integrity.  It is not the other religions who are offended by our faith.  It is the secularists who want to silence religion.  They are using pluralism to try to silence the majority.  When and if they succeed, they will mop up on the rest.

Dan Wooldridge

In Colossians 1: 14-20, we find fifteen great truths about Jesus Christ.  If we are to celebrate the birth of Christ it is important to know just who it is that we are celebrating.

1. Verse 14:     In Him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

2. Verse 15:     He is the image of the invisisble God.

3. Verse 15:     He is the firstborn of all creation-that is the specially honored Son of God with authority over all creation.

4. Verse 16:     By Him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.

5. Verse 16:     All things were created through Him.

6. Verse 16:     All things were created for Him.

7. Verse 17:     He is before all things.

8. Verse 17:     In Him all things hold together.

9. Verse 18:     He is the head of the body, the church.

10. Verse 18:   He is the beginning.

11. Verse 18:   He is the firstborn from among the dead.

12. Verse 18:   In everything He is preeminent. (has supremacy)

13. Verse 19:   In Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

14. Verse 20:   He reconciles all things to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven.

15. Verse 20:   He makes peace by the blood of His cross.

Many who have heard of Jesus do not know these things about Him.  Some who have heard these things do not believe these things about him.   They are willing to grant him prominence but not preeminence.  We must receive Jesus on His terms or not at all.  I confess my faith that all of these things and more are true of Jesus the Christ.

Dan Wooldridge

I want to make a promise to the Lord and to myself.  I promise that I will talk to more people about Jesus in 2010 than in any other year of my life.  Of course, I am depending upon the Lord for the health to keep the promise.  For those who know me, this is no small promise.  I have been committed to personal evangelism for the full thirty eight years that I have been a pastor.  I cannot begin to know what year was the previous high point for sharing Jesus.  Even as a teenager, I was often active in reaching out.  I made soul winning visits with my pastor and my bible study leaders.  Yet for all of this, I am quite aware that I could have done more.  There are inevitable times when one could be about the business of sowing seed and yet chooses to do lesser things.  Sometimes those lesser things are important, but they are not so important as sharing Jesus.

The reason I can boldly make this promise is that we are going to participate in a statewide emphasis called “Hope 2010″.  We will be in possession of thousands of CD roms upon which there will be testimonies and scripture.  The jacket will pose the question, “What’s missing?”    Perhaps one hundred members or more of Crestview will span out through the neighborhoods of Georgetown giving away this gift and seeking to speak a word of ministry, encouragement, or witness as they do.  Such an undertaking cannot help but heighten my personal awareness of the need to obey Jesus and his command to make disciples of all peoples.  One plants, another waters, but God gives the increase.  It is planting time.   I plan to start early, plant bountifully, and share joyfully in the harvest.  Won’t you join me?

Dan Wooldridge

Ephesians chapter six beginning with verse ten describes the spiritual armor that one needs to stand strong.  Every component of that armor rests solidly on a strong Scriptural foundation.  Sadly we are becoming more and more a nation of people who are Biblically illliterate.  We know more about the latest technology than we know about Theology.  Sooner or later the storms of time rage against us.   As I write this, one of the greatest athletes of our lifetime is being drawn and quartered in the media because of his moral failures.  People of every walk of life will face troubles, trials, temptations, accidents, illnesses, and an endless list of possible challenges.  God’s Word has stood the test of time.  Even Jesus overcame the Evil One by quoting Scripture when tempted in the wilderness.  The test is coming.  Only those who are well armed can stand the test.  When was the last time you had an armor check?

Dan Wooldridge

Allow me to give those who take the time to read the blog an insight into what objectives each of my times of teaching and preaching focus upon.

Sunday morning messages tend to be focused on a series that is either from a book of God’s Word or following a theme.  Great attention is given to the fact that we have many non-members and quite a number of non-Christians in attendance.  I cannot think of a Sunday morning in nearly fifteen years that there were not people in attendance who needed to make a decision.

Sunday evening messages tend to be more doctrinal.  I assume that more of those in attendance can go a little deeper with me.  Discipleship issues are given a lot of attention.

Wednesday night devotions are simply the overflow of my thoughts.  They are sometimes book studies and sometimes thematic, but there is always a Scriptural foundation.  Currently I am using the Apostle’s Creed as a starting point for the great doctrines of our faith. 

Thursday morning men’s breakfast is a time of laughter and biblical devotions with the intent of strengthening the fellowship of the men of the Church.  Most Thursday’s we have guests and this makes it possible to meet new men in a friendly and fun environment.

Additionally I teach a Sunday Bible Study.  I use the Explore the Bible suggested text, but teach with the intent to disciple and in some cases reach those who still have doubts and questions about faith.

Monday night I seek to teach a new group each fall and spring about personal evangelism with a strong biblical basis. 

I love sharing the Word.

Dan Wooldridge

Jesus makes clear the fact that gaining the whole world isn’t gain if it costs us our soul.  What is your soul worth?  People sell out every day.  Fame has been the price that has purchased many souls for destruction.  Money has swept untold millions away while providing a drug like euphoria to dull the pain of emptiness.  Sex is all some people have gotten in exchange for their souls.  In most cases they find out that the body is wasted, desecrated, and often diseased as a result.  Some sell out as cheaply as being perceived by others as hip or cool.  Others sell their souls for non-stop entertainment, a way of never having to deal with anything real.  There really is only one price for a soul that is worthy.  The blood of Jesus Christ is the purchase price of a soul.  Once your soul has been paid for the only thing left is to glorify the one who died for us.  Name your price.

Dan Wooldridge